A PHOTO FINISH: BALLGIRL FIRED

They spotted newly acquired pitcher Frank DiPino by scouting him and recalling his impressive stats from 1983 and `84 with Houston.

But when it came to checking out ballgirl Marla Collins . . . well, they already saw enough of her in the September issue of Playboy magazine to make a decision.

Goodbye, Marla.

Collins, 28 and soon appearing at a newsstand near you, is no longer a member of the Cubs` expansive family after appearing partially nude in several provocative poses.

Sportswriters pored over the photo evidence for hours Tuesday afternoon in the Wrigley Field pressbox, trying desperately to determine just how offensive the expose was. Meanwhile, the Cubs won a game. The score was 6-4. We think.

''The Cubs wished me all the best, but they couldn`t condone what I did,'' said Collins. ''The Cub management felt used. There is no embarrassment on my part. It was very tastefully done.''

Tuesday`s revelation left baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth speechless. He attended Tuesday`s game between the Cubs and San Diego Padres as a guest of Cub president Dallas Green and had no public comment on the photo display or if it was in the best interests of baseball.

Regarding Collins` Playboy photos, Green said: ''I don`t have a reaction to it. I`ve seen what we`re talking about, but I don`t have a reaction.''

Collins, who has worked for the Cubs since 1982, met with Stadium Operations Director Tom Cooper and Cub Vice President of Operations Don Grenesko for over an hour Tuesday morning. The club released a cryptic statement that read: ''Marla Collins has left the Chicago Cubs organization effective today. The organization has not made a decision regarding a replacement for Marla.''

A few of the Cubs received an advance peek at Playboy.

''The wife of a friend of mine was in Playboy about three years ago and she had a copy of it (the September issue) while I was home during the All-Star break,'' said Cub reliever George Frazier. ''I saw it then. If that`s what Marla wants to do, then it`s her right. It`s a free country. I don`t think she thought the ramifications would be that heavy against her. Hopefully she won`t take too much heckling and just go on with life. It will all go away.

''This is a family-oriented ballclub and apparently the Cubs felt that wasn`t a very family-oriented thing to do.''

Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, fully clothed, is photographed with Marla in a dugout pose that shows him pointing to a tattoo on her thigh.

''That`s the best thing I`ve seen out of uniform all year,'' quipped Caray, a long-time Collins backer. ''She thought the pictures were going to come out when the season was over. You know she`s getting married in October and she`s not going to be working here next year. It was her understanding that this layout wasn`t going to show until the season was over.''

Cub broadcaster Steve Stone posed for Playgirl magazine right before he joined Caray on the WGN-TV crew several years ago. But Stone pointed out that there was no frontal or rear nudity involved. He also had the permission of WGN to do it before it was released.

After learning that she had been fired, Collins headed for a bar near Wrigley Field, consented to a few television interviews, then called her agent, Mark Childers.

Childers had set up the photo with Playboy more than a year ago. He said he was not surprised to hear that Marla had been fired and that Marla had been on edge since last Thursday, when she got a call from someone who heard she had posed for the magazine.

''She was very nervous going to the ballpark for this homestand,'' said Childers. ''It was just a matter of time before it got out. It`s kind of foolish to think she would be held on by the Cubs after doing that. You have to put yourself in the Cubs` position. They told her the Cubs were a family entertainment thing and they couldn`t have her doing it.

Everybody involved knew it (getting fired) was a distinct possibility the minute we entered into the project. Despite that, we decided to go on with it. The main reason is she can`t see herself being a ballgirl forever. It

(posing for Playboy) was financially rewarding. Otherwise we wouldn`t have done it.''

Childers said Collins went to Playboy in June of 1985 and they gave her a test photo session. She passed the session with flying colors and they signed a contract.

''We talked this morning about the whole job and the perspective of the job in general,'' said Cooper. ''It was a good conversation and we had a mutual parting of the ways. We left very amicable. I wish her well. I talked about it with Don Grenesko and with Dallas Green.

''From my standpoint and from the Cubs` standpoint, it`s not something we`d like to encourage, nor do we condone it.''

Roger Baird, a frequent substitute for Collins, filled in as a ballboy Tuesday. Cooper said he was unsure whether he would hire another young lady for the position.

''We really haven`t got that far yet,'' he said. ''To be honest with you, we just don`t know what we`re going to do yet.''

The Cub phone lines were jammed Tuesday as news of Collins` photos spread.

''I would say that the calls were about 70-30 in favor of what the Cubs did,'' said receptionist Rene Tobin. ''I even got one call from a school official from Marla`s high school. They said that they want her to appear in their homecoming parade next fall.''